The present disclosure relates generally to an arrangement for, and a method of, remotely dimensioning generally planar, target surfaces of diverse objects, such as packages and like freight to be shipped, and, in general, for dimensioning any two-dimensional shape or surface lying in a target plane.
It is generally known in the shipping industry to dimension generally planar, target surfaces of packages and like freight since the recipients of the freight are typically charged by the dimensions of the freight, among other factors, such as weight. Knowing the dimensions of the freight is also useful for determining the order in which the freight is to be loaded onto a transport vehicle, and to fill as much of the transport vehicle as possible for efficient handling and distribution. To that end, it is known for the freight to be delivered to a dimensioning station while a set of overhead laser scanners with rangefinders are moved above and past the freight over a time period during which the freight is scanned, and range information from the freight is captured. The range information is then processed by processing equipment to obtain the dimensions of the freight. Although generally useful, this known dimensioning apparatus has not proven to be altogether satisfactory in practice due to the high cost of the scanners and associated processing equipment, as well as the relatively lengthy time period required to scan the freight.
As another example, for example, in the home improvement industry, it is desirable to know the dimensions of such generally planar, target surfaces as room walls in order to determine how much paint or wallpaper will be needed to cover the walls. Mentally estimating how much paint or wallpaper is required for a home improvement job is a task that plagues many do-it-yourselfers.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to dimension the generally planar, target surfaces of many diverse objects in a more cost-effective, expeditious, and accurate manner.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and locations of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The arrangement and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.